New Delhi: Ahead of the visit of President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen and her cabinet to Delhi, EU officials said they see India as a "partner in peace" when it comes to the war in Ukraine and this will be a subject discussed during the meeting with PM Narendra Modi on Friday. The officials said, "President Ursula will give an update on her visit to Kyiv. Ukraine's security is important to our security, it is important to Indian security".
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The comments are crucial, even as the Trump administration is looking at an end to the war in Ukraine, with talks with Russia in Riyadh. The war, in its third year, has shaken up European security and for the Global South, led to increase in prices of food, fuel and other commodities.
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The EU official pointed out that they "want to have cooperation with India on Russian sanctions, that our sanctions are effective."
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During the visit of EU sanctions envoy David O Sullivan to India last year, Brussels presented evidence to the Indian side over Indian entities breaching G7 sanctions. New Delhi has sought more information on the evidence provided. 
The visit of Ursula Von der Leyen and her cabinet is due to begin from Thursday (Feb 27) and will have its main day of engagement on Friday.

The visit is seen significant since, it's for the first time that such a visit is happening by President Ursula and her cabinet (commissioners) together to any country in years.
This is also the first such visit since the start of the mandate of the current European Commission in December 2024 after the European parliamentary elections held in June 2024.
India-Middle East-Europe corridor, the mega connectivity project that links India with Europe via West Asia, will be part of the talks in New Delhi this week. 
The EU official, terming it as an "important initiative", said the corridor is about "investing in infrastructure, building connections with India" and that Brussels is "committed to developing this, which is a big issue."

The corridor was launched at the India 2023 G20 summit, but has faced a slowdown in its western limb due to conflict between Israel and Hamas. 

Also read: Court rules European Commission chief Ursula violated transparency norms in vaccine contracts
Conversation on the much-delayed India and EU Free trade agreement will also be on the table, as EU officials pointed out, "the case for FTA has never been stronger. We see stars and planet alignment on Friday (when PM Modi, Prez Ursula meet). We might see progress".
Negotiations between India and the European Union for an FTA have been picking up steam, with both sides aiming for a deal that is "balanced and mutually beneficial".
The talks officially restarted in June 2022 after an eight-year pause, with the 10th round scheduled for next month.
The EU official expressed concern over high "Indian tariffs", and hoped that India can lower tariffs on cars and wine.
The EU is India’s largest trading partner, with trade hitting $180 billion in 2023–24—India exporting $75.18 billion in goods and $31.13 billion in services, while the EU sent back $63.44 billion in goods and $31.35 billion in services. The EU is also a major investor, pouring $117.34 billion into India cumulatively.
Focus remains on China as well, with official pointed, "we see alignment between India, EU" on that. This will be the third visit of President Ursula von der Leyen to India, after a bilateral official visit in April 2022, and a September 2023 visit for the India G20 summit.